Bartram’s Garden, is a sprawling public park in Southwest Philadelphia that hosts a community
boathouse, African Diaspora farm (Sankofa), and one of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s
bike hubs.
The Bartram’s Garden bike hub is a vibrant community space sustained by Jack Kavanagh, the lively bike hub manager. Since reopening in 2021, the bike hub has offered free bike rentals and learn to ride classes for adults and children every Saturday between April and October, rooted in the intention to increase access to bikes and trail usage in Southwest Philadelphia.
On June 20th, as the sun illuminated the sky, the Bicycle Coalition welcomed Southwest residents to a Free Bike Tune Up, a special event organized to connect with residents in Southwest, while providing services and resources that will help the community engage with the Schuylkill Crossing Swing Bridge.The Swing Bridge is a pedestrian and cycling crossing that will connect Bartram’s Garden to the east side of the Schuylkill River. This bridge connection will close a critical gap, providing residents in the surrounding neighborhoods a safe, continuous, and accessible multi-use trail from Bartram’s Garden into Center City and beyond.
From the start of the Free Bike Tune Up event, a steady flow of participants excitedly led their bikes to the hub to be examined by a team of volunteer mechanics. Jacob Elliott, the lead mechanic for this event was joined by Bike Education Manager, Lor Song and Bike Educators Chris Bryan and Keanu Salsberry. As the mechanics tended to weather worn bikes, additional members of the Bike Education team, Lan Ngo, Miguel Santana, and Joe Franco offered attendees Fred’s water ice and philly pretzels to cool down. Fred’s, a business local to Southwest Philadelphia, is a staple in the neighborhood.
The Bicycle Coalition’s team was joined by Daniel Paschall, the Mid-Atlantic Manager at the East Coast Greenway Alliance, who shared information with attendees about the surrounding trails including the Schuylkill River, East Coast Greenway, and Circuit Trails networks.
Throughout the event, I had the opportunity to speak to attendees about the Swing Bridge, including Dianne Settles, a long-time homeowner in Southwest Philadelphia. Earlier in the week, I met Dianne at a community meeting at the Kingsessing Library. Dianne was not familiar with the bike hub. However, she expressed interest in bringing her bike to Bartram’s Garden to explore the connected trails.
By the end of the event, around 50 participants visited the bike hub to have their bikes repaired or learn more about the Swing Bridge and the surrounding trail networks. I received an email from an attendee, Fran, later that week that read:
Nice to meet you and the other Bike Coalition folks, my ride is feeling great! Thanks for the link!
As the Bicycle Coalition continues to develop programming for the Swing Bridge opening, we look forward to more opportunities to engage with the community and provide support that’s meaningful to the residents.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia leads the movement to make every bicycle ride safe, to empower youth and adults to ride, and to foster a ridership that reflects the diversity of the region. Join or renew to continue that advocacy and education work throughout the region. More info here.